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n. an order of the court in response to the motion of a party to a lawsuit which allows setting a motion or other legal matter at a time shorter than provided by law or court rules. Shortening time is usually granted when the time for trial or some other court action is approaching and a hearing must be heard promptly by the judge. Example: the local rules require that a party give the other side 10 days' notice before a hearing. A hearing on adding a witness to the expert list would be useless unless heard in five days, since the trial is set to be called in nine days. The court may shorten the time to schedule the hearing to five days, provided the notice is served within 24 hours.